


Forgiveness

by mainestage



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer
Genre: F/M, Luke faces the assailant, Luke got jumped, emotional!Luke, that's enough big words for today, there's a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 01:32:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10322456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mainestage/pseuds/mainestage
Summary: Year nine was such a long time ago, it seemed. Apparently not long enough.You get a text from Luke that says, 'emergency, I need you asap come home' and automatically think the worst. But in the end you're glad you dropped everything.





	

You get home to him laying on the couch, his hair wet from a shower and Petunia lounging spread eagle on his legs. It'd be funny if he hadn't just sent a text stating he was dying.   
You refrain from throwing a conniption fit and instead go for a more subtle approach, gently moving his feet aside and sitting as he sheepishly watches, silent.   
And you just sit there like that, for a good 15 minutes.   
Petunia licking your hand and Luke staring absentmindedly at a fixed point on the wall behind you.   
If you had to, you could tell him how you were at the store when he texted you. You could tell him you had a cart full of groceries. You could even tell him you tripped over a chair that belonged to some Girl Scouts selling cookies on your way out of the store because you THOUGHT HE WAS DYING. But you don't. You just wait patiently, because you know Luke. And you know that even though it was probably something very minute to you, it was most likely something very important to him.   
Finally, after hearing the godforsaken cuckoo clock that Luke insisted on buying from a yard sale ("it's so vintage, Y/N, come on") tick far too many times, Luke speaks.   
"I had a rough day."   
You wait a full 3 minutes and just like you were hoping, Luke continued, "Ok I admit it wasn't as dramatic as I made it seem but Y/N I almost had a fucking emotional breakdown at the gym and I just really needed to talk about it and now I feel like a jerk."   
He goes to take a breath and you stop him, "Why did you almost have an emotional breakdown at the gym?"   
The questions seems to set something off in Luke and you're almost sorry you didn't let him finish.   
"Because..." He laughs and you're pretty sure he's very close to crying "do you remember the story I told you? About a girl named Tiffany?"   
A vague memory of a hushed conversation comes to mind. It was a whispered confession that took place quite a while ago so the details evade you at the moment. You look at him questioningly.   
He bites his bottom lip and there it is, the first tear. "In year 9, she-" he cuts himself off and rolls his eyes " _we_ went out for awhile and when I tried to break it off with her she told everyone I gave her an STD?"   
Ahh yes. Tiffany.  
The hand that was previously circling his shin moves up to his thigh so you can turn your body to the side table and grab a tissue.   
"Thanks" he murmurs as he grabs the tissue and continues with his story, "except that's not all that happened."   
You nod and watch as he closes his eyes for a few moments, then says, "As if having to change schools wasn't hard enough," his chest constricts in a sob and you almost can't take it. "she told her brothers and they kinda beat my ass. Like, really bad."   
Your jaw is on the floor, it has to be. "Luke, what the fuck."   
His face buries into his hand and he doesn't say anything else.   
You unentangle yourself from under his legs and crawl up his body, dislodging an otherwise unaffected Petunia on your way up. You straddle his hips and pull his head onto your chest.   
"Yeah." Is his only response. His hands move from his face to around your waist and he hugs you back as you hold him for awhile.   
What kind of person would lie like that? What kind of person would hurt Luke, the guy who cries when he watches Disney movies and rescues dogs? What kind of person would LET him be hurt?   
"You saw her at the gym?"   
He sniffs and shakes his head, "no. I saw one of her brothers."   
You're sure he can hear your heart palpitate in your chest. He saw one of the men who jumped him? How terrifying must that have been? You can barely imagine it. Despite all of the physical training he's been doing lately, you know Luke isn't training to fight anyone, he's training to be healthy. Regardless, seeing someone who put you in such a vulnerable place must be scary, whether you can defend yourself now or not.   
You hug him closer and rub circles into his back, waiting until an acceptable amount of time has passed and say softly, "I'm so sorry, baby. That must have been scary."   
He pulls away from you suddenly to look at you, eyes still glossy. "Actually, it wasn't. I went up to him and I asked if he remembered me and he looked like he saw a ghost. Turns out what he and his brother did fucked him up. He left Australia for LA a couple months later and hasn't been back since. He said-" once again tears spilled from his eyes and emotion choked the words from him "he said he would do anything to take back what he did. And that for years he walked around hating himself because of it, and he begged me to forgive me."   
He swallowed and took a second to compose himself.   
"And I said 'it's ok I forgive you'."   
You're crying now, and he smiles at you through a few more wayward tears.   
"I'm happy for you baby." And you pull him in again for a hug more fierce than before. "And so proud."   
You both have smiles on your faces mixed with tears and neither of you notice Petunia's concern over your well-beings until she barks loudly and startles you, which gives you both something to laugh at.   
And you're so glad you dropped everything at the grocery store and tripped over the Girl Scouts' chair, because Luke just forgave someone who really fucking messed him up and his relief is palpable.   
So you kiss his nose and tell him to order some take out for dinner while he beams at you like the freaking sun.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted to my tumblr, getsosd, and my Twitter, thekeysrose! Come follow me and send me preferences!


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